Dread Sovereign: Monster Girl Harem

Chapter 10 10: Half-Orcs Lament - Part 2

?Raven stepped cautiously into the dimly lit dungeon room, the torches casting flickering shadows across the rough stone walls.

The air was thick with a musty scent, and a chill ran down his spine as he gazed around the eerie chamber.

He took a deep breath, the air strangely dense and heavy on his lungs, feeling the tense atmosphere building as he moved forward; although his strength likely had the advantage against these creatures, he was big and bulky while they looked swift and sneaky.

The room was around three metres by six metres, with a low ceiling that seemed to press down on him.

In the corners, dark shadows lurked, seemingly alive with some unknown presence.

Raven could barely see what lay in the depths of those shadows, but his imagination conjured up various images of sinister creatures lurking there.

He looked deeper into the room, his eyes falling upon a stone pedestal to the north, around 4 metres away at most, inching forward to get a clearer grasp of the pedestal as the shadows flickered around him.

'So fucking dark... Where are those annoying goblins? Are they even goblins?'

Grasping his axe tightly, the glint of his black shield reflected on the western wall, where a wooden door with black steel and a thick padlock hung from the handle.

Raven's breathing increased, his eyes focused on the object of his desire.

Atop it sat a black chest, it's surface adorned with strange and arcane symbols that glinted in the torchlight. And skittering around the chest were two creatures, their movements quick and slippery as they seemed to guard their prize.

'Goblins? Spiders?' He couldn't tell, causing his mind to race.

The creatures were like nothing Raven had ever seen before.

They were small, barely reaching his knee, with long, spindly limbs that bent and twisted unnaturally. Their skin was a sickly green hue, and their eyes glowed with an eerie red light that seemed to pierce into Raven's soul.

'What the hell are they!?' His heart began to pound just looking at them; this wasn't a normal enemy; from the various posts on the guild forum about this place, it should only have goblins and the occasional kobold or vampire bat.

'Calm down, relax.... slow your breath, narrow your vision, focus on the targets...'

His mind began to repeat the words of his mother; she would train him endlessly when younger, how to deal with fear, what to do when your body tenses up out of terror; as Raven's nails began to sink into his palms, a thick red blood oozing slowly, as he let out a quiet moan of pain.

'Ok... I can think...'

He watched as the creatures darted around the chest, their movements almost too quick for his eyes to follow.

Raven knew that whatever lay within that black chest must be of great value, for the creatures were fiercely guarding it.

He knew that not everyone's first chest was equal as some would get horrible talents or start classes from slaves to prostitutes who would only be able to change it once reaching level 5 and needed to perform the class actions to increase it; some professions were unable to level with combat experience.

Raven stepped forward, his hand on his axe tight, held on his shoulder, ready to slam it down on anything that approached, prepared for the worst.

Suddenly The creatures screeched in unison, their voices high-pitched and grating, and Raven knew he was in for a fight.

'Fuck can they smell blood!?'

But he steeled his resolve and advanced towards the chest, determined to claim whatever lay within it.

"Fuck it! Let's fight like men!"

He made the first move, the strange creatures with their sharp limbs in the air as he lunged forward, the closeby broken stones almost blocking his path, or so it seemed.

Instead, his foot stepped onto a broken pillar, tensing his muscles as he leapt forward, the second creature rushing towards him with loud, almost hysteric screeches as Raven watched the beast stab towards him twice with two-bladed limbs.

Clang! Shling!

"Fucker!"

Raven's left arm thrust forward, like jutting his elbow to smash into someone's face, the blades slamming into his shield with bright silver sparks, denting the metal as he lost momentum, the second blow scraping across his axe's blade, leaving Raven stuck in retreat his first attack failed as he lowered his body, watching the two monster's that darted around, trying to flank him.

'No way! You bastards aren't going to flank this orc!'

He grasped his axe with both arms, twisting his body to the left, tightening his powerful abs, and waiting for his eyes to dart to both sides as the creatures slowly approached, prowling as if toying with their prey.

'Come on! Come on!'

Suddenly the torches became dim, their light blown to the other side of the huge stones lying around the room as if a signal; he heard the skittering of their feet before two gentle sounds.

Pah! Pah!

'They're coming!'

His mind entered a clear state, feeling their hatred and bloodlust for him, both in mid-air; it was like all time had stopped.

Raven's breathing slowed, and his heart beat louder as memories of his mother and father fighting each other surfaced in his mind; a moment into the fight, his father looked exhausted and asked him to help; they formed a joint assault against his mother.

Then the visage grew distant, only the words of his mother as the dark dungeon returned, the creatures only two metres or so away as they flung towards him, sharp sticky teeth, black with dirt and grime as their bladed limbs pointed towards him.

"Remember Alistair, when using an axe, the most effective way of dealing with opponents that surround you?"

"What mother...?" Raven mouthed the words, but a vicious smirk showed on his face in the dark dungeon, half lost in his memories and linking that scene to his current fight.

The two creatures became his father and him in the past, lunging towards his mother, who stood in the centre, with no guard or stance, just holding her axe tightly with her hands nearer the blade.

Woosh! Stamina -1.5

Vitality -0.5

His body suddenly unleashed all the power he had been building, the tight muscles in his legs suddenly expanding as he flung himself in a circle, feeling a tearing pain and strange burn in his abdomen as he tore through the first monster with a powerful swipe of his axe, the sensation addictive as he rotated on the spot.

He felt the impact with the first creature, the blade embedding itself deep into its abdomen, before sending it flying into the distance, seeming to smash into the wall as it crashed and let out a pained screech.

But Raven's power didn't stop; his motivation and force began to increase, putting more and more power into his legs; the slight burning sensation didn't matter; his face was filled with a smile, fully immersed in the nostalgia of his mother's image.

The cut along his forearm, blood spurting, didn't matter!

He felt invincible!

Power was surging through his veins along with the adrenaline; as he was uplifted, he was something new! not his usual self!

Raven felt reborn, revitalised, and the feelings of gloom, breaking up with Philis; they all didn't matter when his axe was bearing down on his enemies!

He closed his eyes, embracing the moment his memories and mother overlapped, stepping out with his right foot as she did.

·??m The first rotation ended before he flipped the axe, kicking off a stone and whirling around in the opposite direction, the blade slicing the second monster's bladed limbs off as it shot backwards several metres from the blow.

"The whirlwind!" In sync with the mother in his mind, he shouted as the dream-like vision faded, a sense of bloodlust building inside his chest.

'I won't let them regroup!'

Raven's body dashed forward, weary from the spin, slightly swaying before he found the second creature, a strange black blood oozing and spraying on the ground from its severed limbs.

Without a moment, the creature's screech began to resound, but he couldn't give a fuck; slamming his axe down, the creature's head was crushed, split in half as its hard body shuddered before slumping down without power.

Raven didn't bother, twisting the axe, yanking it from the corpse, his ears listening for the movent of the other creature, pivoting his body as the black blood dripped from the tip of his axe.

He was like a berserker from hell, with a huge body, almond skin, and small tusks; he slowly approached the pedestal, the injured monster's body trembling as it quivered behind the stone.

'This little bastard... little tricks!'

Woosh!

The axe lifted into the air before moving to a diagonal angle, pulling back Raven took the horse stance, lowering his centre of gravity, his eyes watching every little move the creature did; if it moved to the side, his axe changed angle, and if it hid completely he made a step to entice the creature out.

'Thanks for the guidance, Mother, but from here on. I have to learn to fight my way!'

Smash! Stamina -2.2

His axe slammed down, his bulging biceps and thighs filled with tight muscles contracting to the brim as veins bulged from his flesh.

The hammer of his axe crushed the stone, its colossal impact causing a blast to echo around the room, almost causing a tremor as the pedestal collapsed, Raven's arms buckling before feeling intense throbbing pain all along his muscles, his face filled with a smile.

He felt the hammer crush the rock, grinding it to dust before a fleshy, soft impact sounded as Raven's body and blood surged, feeling the creature's body minced into a bloody pulp.

The exoskeleton cracked under the pressure of his blow as sweat poured from Raven's brow, and his chest began to heave from exhaustion; he was still an average person.... yet he won!

"Get fucked!" A rare vulgar word came from Raven's mouth as he stomped on the crushed rocks, the black blood shooting out like a man's pissed when he urinated, while the black chest rolled onto the ground and landed at his feet with a tap.

Clink!

'Let's see what we've earned!'

Raven whispered, his body still sore and tired, the axe in his hand trembling from hitting the rocks so recklessly, but his face was beaming, he fell over the world, and the sound that made him feel joy sounded.

[The Damned Slain - Earned 60 credits! (20 credit bonus for low level!)]

o-- Alistair "Raven" Granbell

o-- Human / High Orc

o-- Class N/A

o-- Experience: 0/10

Attributes (Average = 1)

Strength: 2.4

Agility: 1.1

Stamina: 0.5 (4.4)

Vitality: 3.9 (4.4)

Intellect: 1.2

Wisdom: 1.5

o-- Skills: N/A

After briefly checking his attributes, he kicked the chest; as the lid began to click open, a strange black light filled the cave, blowing all the torches out, which caused Raven to feel on guard, worrying about a secret encounter.

'Oh no, don't do this to me...'

A moment later, brilliant purple light began to burst from the chest as a strange crystal with strange inscriptions along the surface filled the cavern with a gentle but eerie purple light. As the ring on his finger began to glow brightly, he watched in awe as the stone began to levitate, slowly rising until it reached his chest.

'What the...? Why does the mark look like...'

Woosh!

Thus the purple crystal shot into his chest, the loud sounds of bones cracking and flesh tearing filling the room.

"No... Wha....Ugh....!?" He could only cough up his blood, with a blurry vision, as he felt the axe of his mother grow heavy, slipping from his weakened fingers, as Raven tried to fight off the feeling of sleep.

Powerless...

Resilient...

Raven could feel the veins inside his body suddenly acting strange, as if something was draining his blood, sucking him dry, the pain so intense it left him gasping for air, trying his best to fight it off.

"I won't submit... you won't take my spirit!"

He bit his lips, trying to cup his chest as blood flooded his black vest, almost forming a large puddle under his feet.

His unyielding will, fighting back to the last moment.

"Damn fuckers.... I won't die....!"

Raven's eyes dulled, the last of his power fading before his body trembled and dropped to the ground in his pool of blood, fleeting tears of defiance dripping from his eyes.